Catastrophic Failure
by WolverGrim
Summary: Kitty meets a future version of herself who tells her a mutant from the future has been sent back by Sinister to kill Pietro  future leader of the XMen, and that she must help protect him. Kietro. Time travel. Inspired by 'The Age of Apocalypse' Universe.
1. Prologue

"Twenty Years into the Future"

Katherine was pacing again. She always did when she was left behind during a mission. She hated it, and Bishop hated it because it meant he was supposed to deal with her. Being her boyfriend's best friend didn't make it any easier.

He tightened a bolt on the motorcycle he'd been tuning, and set his wrench on his stool.

"You're gonna wear a hole in the floor before they get back."

Katherine sighed and brushed an errant bang from her face. "I've already secured the perimeter."

"Yeah, I know." Bishop said with an exasperated sigh. "Three times now, am I right?"

"Yeah, Siren and Spyke are patrolling tonight."

He watched as she walked over to join him. Her emotions were somewhere between worry and annoyance; just like they always were in times like this.

"Do you need any help with that?"

Bishop glanced at the bike then back at Katherine, quickly dissuading her with a shake of his head. She could pilot the X-Jet fine, but he wouldn't trust her with any sort of work tool. Not since she'd accidentally taken apart his last project.

Katherine pouted and sat herself on the seat of the bike. "I hate being left behind to baby-sit."

"Do you think I enjoy it?" He asked with a pointed look.

She smiled and looked around the empty hanger. "You know the kids like you more, any way. Big 'ol uncle Bishop."

Bishop rolled his eyes, deciding he had done enough work for the night. He wiped the oil from his hands on the back of a dirty rag and tossed it on his pile of tools.

"They're taking a lot longer than they said they would." She said wistfully.

"Yeah well it's a big haul. Magneto went with them too."

Katherine sighed again. She always worried when Pietro was in danger and she wasn't there to watch his back.

"They'll be back soon."

A loud clang of metal drew their attention to the far end of the hanger where the doors had suddenly been blown open. Kitty leapt to her feet and Bishop reached for a wrench, but they both halted when they saw who it was.

Spyke was hurrying toward them with Cannonball in full uniform close behind him. Seeing their younger friend was a bad sign. He'd been working undercover within Sinister's ranks for nearly three months. If he broke his cover, it meant something was going down.

"Guys we've got a problem!"

Katherine looked between the two. "Is it Pietro? Is the team okay?"

Cannonball looked nervous.

"Sam!" Bishop could sense her distress. "Spit it out already."

"The team should be fine." Cannonball replied. He was still trying to catch his breath from what had obviously been a long flight. "It's something way bad."

"How bad is way bad?" Katherine asked.

"I heard Sinister was planning something," Cannonball continued. "No one knew what it was, but Pyro found out and let it slip. It's real bad."

Spyke rolled his eyes and gave his friend a quick nudge. "Get on with it man, don't leave us hanging."

"He kidnapped Forge, and his time machine. He wants to send Sabertooth back into the past to change it."

Katherine was beyond confused. Bishop could tell, since he found himself more than a little bewildered himself.

"Time machine?" He asked.

"Forge never takes a day off work. He's been working on it for over five years."Spyke added helpfully. "I visited him three months ago before he moved, and he told me it was nearly done."

"That's pretty damn bad." Bishop admitted.

Katherine shook her head. "What does he want to do in the past? Everything's pretty screwed up as it is."

Cannonball looked nervous again.

"What's Sabertooth supposed to do?" Bishop growled.

"He plans on killing Quicksilver before he joins the X-Men."

Katherine took a shaky step back and grabbed for Bishop's arm to support her. The news had hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Are you serious?" Spyke shook his head in disbelief. "He can't be that desperate!"

"He is!" Cannonball said with a vigorous nod. "Ever since Magneto joined our cause and took a large chunk of Sinister's followers with him, he's wanted a new foothold - a bigger foothold."

"How's killing Quick gonna do that?" Spyke wondered.

"It's simple." Katherine said in a voice so soft all three had to lean closer. "Pietro is the one who held us together after we lost Xavier and the others."

They all fell silent, remembering the tragedy that had struck nine years earlier.

"That's really bad." Spyke said just as soft. "What are we gonna do? What do we tell the boss?"

Bishop couldn't stand to see Katherine upset. It was his responsibility to keep an eye on her while Pietro wasn't around, and this case was no different. "Has he set the plan into motion yet?"

Cannonball shrugged, but his expression wasn't encouraging. "It took me five days to get out of his ranks, and it'd already been a few since Pyro had heard. He may have already went through with it."

Silence fell heavy over the scene.

"We have to go back and stop Sabertooth."

All three looked at Katherine with a mixture of surprise.

"And how do you expect to do that?"Bishop inquired.

"This."

Cannonball reached into his uniform and pulled out what looked like a large digital watch. "Forge designed it to track time streams. It's also supposed to have the same power his machine has, but it's never been tested."

Katherine took it from him and examined its digital display. "How did you get your hands on this?"

"Pyro."

The name was a shock to everyone.

"Pyro? Are you kidding me?!" Bishop sputtered. "He was one of Magneto's top sociopaths. What makes you think you can trust him?"

Cannonball hesitated, throwing his attention else where. "It's difficult okay? But just believe me when I say he's on our side. At least for now. And this is legit."

"Spyke?" Katherine dangled the watch in front of her old friend.

"I never saw it in Forge's lab. He may have made it after though, you know how fast he works."

The watched beeped and Katherine quickly held it up to examine. Bishop watched over her shoulder and saw a small red dot moving from the right side of the screen to the left.

"What's that?" He asked.

"I think it's Sabertooth. He's going there right now." Katherine studying the numbers displayed. "The top looks like the date he's heading for."

"What about the bottom set?" Bishop inquired.

"That's for the watch." Katherine said, though it sounded more like she guessed the last part than figured it out. "We have to go, right now."

"What?" Bishop shook his head. "Not until we run this by the boss man."

"No!" Katherine shouted, surprising him with her tone. "I'm not waiting. The second Sabertooth reaches his destination, everything could change. We may not remember this in the first place!"

Bishop watched as she began to punch a set of numbers into the bottom row on the watch. He felt panic rise. They weren't equipped for this sort of mission. He glanced at Spyke and saw what he needed.

"Hey man, what gives?" Spyke tried to back away, but Bishop had already snagged the radio set he'd been wearing over his ear. He then took the liberty of relieving the lookout of his binoculars and night vision glasses.

"Where's your back up radios?" Bishop snapped.

Catching on, Spyke quickly pulled two more from his uniform jacket. They'd been carrying multiple sets ever since the tragedy, on Pietro's orders. They'd come in handy more times than anyone could count, and it looked like the current situation was as good an example as any.

Bishop stuffed them into his vest and swiped his team jacket off the back of his work bench. He rejoined Katherine just as she finished programming.

A bright red portal suddenly formed in front of her, five feet high and four feet wide.

Bishop resisted the urge to step back.

Katherine strapped the watch to her wrist and took Bishop by the hand. "Tell Pietro we'll be back before he knows it."

Both Spyke and Cannonball nodded.

Without a second thought she leapt into the swirling vortex, with Bishop directly behind her.

00000

A/N: Okay, I know Bishop at least in the old X-Men is from waaay later in the future, but considering Evolution already messed up the ages of everyone, I decided to have him working with our team. So don't pester me about it.

I also haven't really pinpointed when this story takes place with the Evolution time line for you, so I thought I'd do that now. It takes place late Season Three BEFORE Apocalypse's arrival. In this storyline he is not a threat. At least not yet.

Hope you all enjoyed the first instalment. More is to come!


	2. Where for?

Bishop picked himself unceremoniously from the warehouse floor and dusted the knees of his jeans off. He hadn't quite expected to end up in the exact place they'd been, only in the past, but after thinking the physics of time travel had been called complicated for a reason, he left it at that.

Katherine had already gotten up, and was exploring the far end of the hanger. It was abandoned, just like they had found it in their own time, but judging by the quality it'd been left only recently.

"Come on!" She called back, focusing on the view through one of the dirty windows. "We can't hang out here all night."

Bishop gave a disgruntled sigh and lumbered up to her. When Pietro had asked him to look after her, this was not what he had in mind. "Where are we Kath?"

She pointed out the glass, and his gaze followed the gesture. There was nothing but more shipment containers beyond the aging walls. "We can use this place as our base. It doesn't look like anyone's been here for a while."

"Katherine." Bishop repeated her name. "Where are we?"

She turned back to him, and scanned the face of Forge's watch. "I sent us back a day before Sabertooth arrives."

"And that would be?"

"Twenty years in the past to the date."

Bishop did the math on his hands and after several seconds, whistled as he realised the implications. "That means you and Pretty Pie are just kids!"

Katherine swatted his arm. "Don't call him Pretty Pie."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You call him that."

"Yeah well, he wouldn't kill me for it."

Bishop shrugged and looked around once more. The place was pretty drab for a base. "We'll need some furnishing and basics like food and water."

"We should also start a rotating guard on Pietro."

"You know where he is, right?" Bishop asked, pulling two radios from his jacket.

"That's not the problem. Following him is going to be." Katherine amended. "He hasn't changed much in that respect in the twenty years I've known him."

"Yeah," Bishop remembered how unnerving it had been when they first met, having Quicksilver zipping in a blur. He was still getting used to it. "What do you suggest?"

"Guessing where he's going to be, would be a start." Katherine accepted the radio Bishop handed her and fixed it over her ear. "What's the frequency?"

"Five."

After adjusting it, she sat on the top of a crate. Bishop watched her closely.

"I'm trying to think of where he'll be in the morning." She said, catching his look.

"Wouldn't you be in school?" Bishop inquired.

Katherine brightened at the thought and jumped from her seat. "How could I forget? I know where he'll be, come on."

00000

"What are you do'n?" Rogue asked in her southern drawl. She sat at the end of her bed in her night shirt, and watched with mild irritation as her roommate dug franticly through the clothes in her closet.

"I like, can't find my good jacket!" Kitty threw several coats on the floor and kicked the closet door out of frustration. Immediately she regretted it and hopped in a half circle cradling her foot.

"Why don't ya just wear anotha' shirt then?" Rogue grumbled and eyed the clock between their beds. It was far too early on a school day to be up.

"I can't just change!" Kitty said, aghast. "This shirt is brand new! I like, really want to show it off today. My friends expect it!"

"Well, what about that one?" Rogue said, pointing at a simple black jacket on the top of her pile. There wasn't anything wrong with it from what she could tell.

Kitty barely glanced at it. "It has to match, okay? I have an image to uphold. I can't just wear anything."

Rogue groaned and fell backward on her bed. "Ah don't care what you're gonna wear, just pick someth'n so ah can go back to sleep."

With a sigh, Kitty threw her closet shut and grabbed her school bag. "Forget it, I'll go without one."

"You're gonna regret it." Rogue called after her, but Kitty was too occupied to pay any attention. She needed to reach the upstairs bathroom before anyone else in the mansion beat her to it.

Satisfied for the silence that followed the rampaging teen's retreat, Rogue pulled her comforter around her and fell back asleep.

00000

"You sure about this?" Bishop asked, eying the empty parking lot. He couldn't imagine his boss ever going to a place like this; not even Katherine herself.

"Oh come off it." Katherine flipped her hair in an annoyed fashion and gave her partner a levelled gaze. "I wasn't a complete air head in high school."

Bishop grinned. "Yeah but, the aquarium?"

"School field trip." She reminded him. "This was when I first...we first..." A blush crossed her face and she quickly looked away.

"Made out?"

Katherine shot him a warning look. "Get your head out of the gutter. I meant it was the first time we actually had a semi-decent conversation, okay?"

Bishop held his hands up disarmingly, but couldn't quite hide the grin he was wearing. "So where do you want to set up?"

"On the roof." Katherine gestured at the sloping tiles high above the main entrance. "Once we have him in sight, we can maintain surveillance until this all gets sorted out."

Bishop nodded and patted the watch in his vest pocket to make sure it was still in place; she'd given it to him on the way there, for better protection. He didn't like their situation, but he understood the urgency. They had a lot riding on the hope that they didn't screw it up.

Katherine checked to make sure the coast was clear, then took Bishop's hand and phased them through the chain link fence that separated the parking lot from the storage area behind the aquarium.

00000

"What does a guy wear to these kind of things?"

Pietro eyed his closet and the limited wardrobe it held. He wasn't impressed by what he saw. "Guys are supposed to dress for the ladies."

Lance watched him from the doorway to his bedroom, leaning his shoulder against the frame. "At an aquarium?"

Pietro whipped through the shirts in a fraction of a second and pulled a maroon quarter sleeve out of the mix and held it up to himself in a grand gesture. "What do you think?"

"I think you wear that all the time."

Ignoring the comment, he had the shirt and a pair of jeans on before the move even registered for Lance.

His friend waved him off as helpless and retreated, leaving Pietro to pose in front of his mirror. He had a lot of girls to impress, both in class and potentially new conquests he would meet at the aquarium.

A menagerie of faces flashed through his mind as he sped through the house gathering breakfast. Kitty's stood out amongst them. He wasn't going to deny she was a fine catch; barring her low I.Q. but he also wasn't going to deny she was off limits due to her place of residence.

Still, it never hurt to try.

00000

Kitty stood in front of the group she'd been assigned and tried without fail to ignore the unwelcome presence of Pietro Maximoff. She'd been so worried about looking good for her class field trip to the Aquarium that she'd completely forgotten exactly who she shared biology with.

For the first hour she'd managed to avoid him completely, keeping with her own tight knit group of friends, but as time wore on he seemed to lose interest in their note taking and his flirting on the side, and turned his attention toward her, much to her dismay.

His snide smile and rude comments usually went unnoticed with the girls Kitty associated with, since they were all too taken by his good looks. They knew she had a problem with him, but they were teenagers after all, and that made it hard to keep them from ogling.

After Mrs. Sanders gave them a twenty minute lunch break, Pietro approached Kitty and her group, wearing what she could only describe as the most shit-eating-grin she'd ever seen.

"Good morning, ladies." He said, giving them all a playful wink. "Enjoying the field trip, I gather?"

Sarah blushed and covered a giggle with her hand. Mary and Susan nodded, but caught themselves from answering when they met Kitty's fiery gaze.

Pietro also saw it, but continued unfazed. "Hey Kitty cat, I hope you're taking good notes. You want to keep your prof impressed, don'tcha?"

Kitty glared at him, hugging her notebook to her chest. "Why don't you like, go flirt with a fish or something."

"Smooth one," Pietro replied sarcastically. "But really Pryde, I thought with a name like yours you'd enjoy a good dip with the fish."

"Leave us alone, Pietro." Kitty gave him a meaningful look, one that promised much pain and torment if he didn't submit.

He seemed to weigh the benefits of continuing, then having come to a decision, shrugged and walked away.

Susan sighed dramatically. "What a shame you don't like him."

"Yeah," Sarah said, watching Pietro retreat. "He's so cute!"

"As if." Kitty huffed, refusing to admit that while she found him annoying, he was undeniably good looking.

"I'm hungry." Mary said after a moment, holding her stomach for emphasis. "Who wants to raid the souvenir shop for some snack bars?"

Sarah and Susan chimed in with giddy "Meeee"s, but Kitty's attention had drifted unintentionally across the large lobby to where Pietro had just entered a stairway marked for 'No Access', and disappeared around a corner.

"You three go ahead, I'll be right there."

Her friends gave her curious looks but did as told. They were nice, but they never tried too hard to understand her. Sometimes it was annoying, but in this case she was thankful.

Once alone, Kitty made her way through the throngs of students and visitors, and past several tanks of fish and dolphins, to the bottom of the stairwell.

What was Pietro doing, being all secretive? It unnerved her. Usually she could care less what he did on his own time at school, but she felt responsible for keeping an eye on him since no other X-Men were on location.

She made sure no one was looking, then quickly stepped into the narrow hall and ascended the steps.

00000

As her eyes became accustomed to the new light of the mid morning sun, she found her attention drawn to the slightest of sounds. It reminded her of a blue jay in a bird bath, fluttering its wings in shallow water. She located the source almost immediately, and found what she'd been looking for.

She stood on the lip of a large tank, undoubtedly the dolphins she'd viewed from below, and running back and forth across the surface with as much grace as someone skipping a stone, was her target; Pietro Maximoff.

He didn't seem to notice, as he seemed too occupied by staying above the surface. His mutant ability granted him the speed required to stay one step ahead of gravity, and he was using it to cross both the width and length of the tank with little to no effort.

Kitty was both amazed and annoyed, though she only focused on the latter of the two feelings. How stupid did someone have to be to risk exposure simply to get a quick frolic? She groaned and considered her options. There were their teachers down stairs, currently in line with the rest of the class for burgers and fries, but they would freak if they came up and saw what one of their students was doing. Then there was the fact that she was the only member of the X-Men on site, since none of the others shared biology class with her. As she had previously concluded, it was her responsibility.

She glanced around, satisfied all the walkways were clear. No one had seen him yet. And, since she was the acting member of the X-Men she came to the decision to put a stop to Pietro's mayhem herself.

"Pietro-"

A sudden movement caught her eye on the building across from her. Some one knelt on the sloping roof and aimed a gun of some sort directly at the Brotherhood member's blurry form. The person only held position for a fraction of a second before Pietro plunged unceremoniously into the cold water.

Kitty screamed and glanced back at the attacker, but the figure had already retreated. Her attention went to the rings left in the wake of Pietro's fall, but he hadn't resurfaced for air. There'd been no shot, but memories of all the late night P.I movies she'd watched with her dad left her with horrible images of Pietro being shot up by a hit man who used a silencer.

"Oh great," She said, fighting back a hysteric laugh. "I worry about matching a jacket, and what good does that do when I have to ruin my whole ensemble?" With her mind made up, she dropped her backpack and notebook beside the door and jumped into the water.

It was cold, way too cold. The jolt nearly caused her to lose her breath, but she fought the urge to resurface. She spotted Pietro toward the centre of the pool, thankfully near the surface. He appeared to be uninjured, but he wasn't making an effort to swim. Kitty kicked her way out to him and grabbed him non-too gently by the sleeve of his shirt. With some effort she tugged him to the surface.

They broke free at the same time, sputtering and gasping for air. Kitty brushed wet bangs from her eyes with the back of her hand and glanced at the mutant she was still holding onto. He looked winded and utterly confused.

"Well, what do you say to someone who just saved your life?" Kitty asked with a stab of annoyance.

He looked at her through squinted eyes. "Pryde, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Saving your life." She repeated, peddling both of them back to the edge she'd jumped from.

Pietro didn't seem to notice she was doing all the leg work. He was looking back across the pool, and rubbing the back of his neck. "What the hell..."

Kitty took hold of the concrete walkway and pulled herself up. Pietro did the same, and they sat beside one another for a few silent seconds.

"What did you do?" Pietro asked after a moment of collecting himself. Accusation was clearly written across his face. "You and your X-Geeks think this one up?"

Kitty flustered with indignation and quickly stood. Pietro followed and they stared off.

"I don't think you understand what I just did." Kitty said with a huff. "I like, totally saved your life! You shouldn't be such a jerk about it, I already regret doing it!"

"Oh yeah, sure. Saving my life. You were conveniently right here." He said, gesturing wildly at the empty enclosure. "If you're going to lie, make up something more believable next time."

Kitty opened her mouth to reply but her gaze fell on a small black dart that fell from the collar of the young man's shirt. He didn't seem to notice, as he was still intent on rubbing his neck and tearing her a new one.

"I hope you think of an equally creative story to tell the teachers when they see you like that." He said, gesturing at her wet clothes. I, thankfully have a speed dry cycle."

Without another word, Pietro used his mutant speed to lap the sides of the pool five times, then disappeared down the stairwell they'd come from.

Kitty groaned at her current predicament and glanced around once more. She had a feeling she'd be in a lot of trouble at school for falling into a fish tank, but she'd have a good excuse at home explaining it to Professor Xavier.

She stooped and picked the dart off the concrete. It was no larger than the tip of her forefinger, but it was thick like a bumble bee. She pocked it and followed Pietro's retreat down the stairs, bracing herself for the fallout of risking her life for a complete idiot.

00000

From her perch high above the scene, Katherine let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. For a minute she thought they'd already failed, but thankfully young Kitty Pryde had been there to help. She smiled at the memory of watching herself swim out and drag Pietro to safety. It was weird, but also satisfying. If... no, when their job worked out, she'd be able to hold that bit of information over her boyfriend's head.

"Sprite." Bishop's voice crackled over her radio, disturbing the silence that fell over the area. Katherine quickly turned the volume down and pushed the speaker closer to her mouth. "What is it, Bishop?"

"I lost the son-of-a-bitch."

Katherine bit her lip to hold back a groan, and surveyed the area from her perch. It wasn't like Victor to be so stealthy. She didn't like knowing he'd managed to get past their perimeter and take a shot. He had most likely been relying on the knowledge that Pietro was alone, but Kitty's sudden appearance threw the plans awry. No accidental drowning today, thankfully.

"Well, keep looking. I'll stay with the target."

"Remember what we discussed." Bishop said firmly.

"Yeah, I know." Katherine had to fight to keep the frustration from showing in her voice. "I'll stay at a distance. No one will know I'm here."

"Watch your six. Over and out."

Katherine stood and walked across the expanse of the large roof, then paused in a location she'd marked earlier when they'd first come to the area. She allowed herself to faze through the roof, and landed gracefully on the floor of a utility closet. She took her headset off and tucked it away in her jacket and after checking her hair to make sure it hadn't been messed up, she exited into the main lobby of the aquarium.

She spotted Kitty twenty feet away looking quite ashamed and receiving a lecture from her teacher while several classmates watched on. Katherine grimaced, feeling sympathy for herself, and more than a little twinge of regret for not being able to help.

She forced her attention away from the scene, and scanned the multiple bodies of students crowding the tanks and taking notes. She spotted Pietro at the far end of the lobby, looking slightly dishevelled and still holding the back of his neck. From his posture, she guessed Creed had used some sort of electrically charged dart, meant to disarm and stun targets. She'd experienced similar means on missions in her own time.

That however left her more worried than before. Why was Sabertooth using such a means? From what she remembered of the man, he was all brawns and no brains. Had Cannonball's information been wrong? Were they looking for someone else entirely?

Katherine rubbed her brow in an attempt to clear her thoughts. No matter. Kitty had the dart, but with only trace elements inside and most of it having already been discharged, Katherine wasn't worried that Hank and Professor Xavier would find anything sound. She forced herself to stop worrying, and focused on watching Pietro from a distance.

It was odd seeing him young again. She pictured how she knew him in her time, and compared it to the boy she now watched, and felt a slow smile spread across her face. No one would have ever guessed such a stuck-up arrogant jerk would grow up to be such an important figure in her life, as well as many others. She only had to keep him alive to make sure he still did so, and hope that her being there wouldn't change what they had together in the future.

00000

A/N: SO yeah, crazy idea am I right? But it's something that's quite literally been on my mind for over six years. I finally started to write it down, and I hope others will enjoy.

I figure it's a good time as any to bring up that there may be slight insinuations of future pairings (not any in the present-day time other than Pietro and Kitty, but much later where Katherine and Bishop come from). Nothing in that respect is planned yet, but there is great potential for Rogue and Scott. Just warning you! I love Rogue, and my roommate is a big fan of those two, so it may be hard for me to avoid. Still, they aren't the main focus of the story, so at the moment they are on the back burner.

More to come! Please read and review! Let me know what you think! Comments are friendly criticism is welcome, but please no flames!


	3. Passing the Torch

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men and blah blah copyright. I'm just writing a fanfic! Though I wish I had a piece of the action 'cuz... sigh

A/N: Thanks to the reviews. More to come. This is a longer chapter than the previous ones. I promise action in the next one, and eventually some budding Kietro! I know I may have some details wrong, since it's been several years since I watched the show. Anything I get wrong I will just excuse as artistic move of some sort. Just bare with me, n'kay?

R/R as always, love ya to bits!

00000

Pietro sat at the back of the school bus for the return trip; a logical place since he was content in staring holes through the back of Kitty Pryde's head.

Why had she attacked him like that and then saved him right after? And was it really 'saving' if the intent to harm came first? Did she think he wouldn't put

two and two together? Maybe she hoped he'd think better of the X-Men if she'd saved him. But why? What was the point? And why was he more upset that Kitty

was connected to the attack, rather than the attack itself? He frowned at the thought.

As if sensing his attention on her, Kitty turned in her seat at the front of the bus and met his gaze. Her surprise quickly fused to anger and she presented

him with the back of her head. He narrowed his eyes at the ponytail that waved at him in almost defiance, and crossed his arms. The fact that she'd gotten

under his skin was more infuriating than everything he'd previously been dwelling over. What gave her the right to be angry with him? And why was he still

thinking about her?

"Dude, Pietro. You look like you're gonna kill someone."

He turned to the boy sitting beside him. Was it Ryan? Ross? Rich? "It's nothing, leave me alone."

"Kinda looks like you've been rejected or something." RogerRalphReeceRiley said with a smirk.

Pietro decided he didn't care what the boy's name was since he was proving to be a royal pain in his ass.

"And that is why you're not a psychologist." He countered, moving his gaze back to the subject of his distress. She was looking at him again. He narrowed his

gaze and after a few tense moments of tossing daggers, she turned away.

Unconsciously he reached back and rubbed his neck where the dull throb lingered. She sure had some nerve messing with him.

"Geeze what's that?" RobbyRoyRayReggie asked, pointing at the exposed skin of Pietro's neck.

"Bee sting." He replied automatically. "Didn't I say 'leave me alone?'"

The boy looked put off.

Pietro didn't care.

He leaned back in his seat and continued to stare, uninterrupted the rest of the ride to Bayville High.

00000

"Keety." Kurt assaulted her with his presence the second she stepped out of detention. "Vhat on earth did you do?"

A hint of mischief shined in his eyes and it caused Kitty's mood to darken considerably. He actually thought she'd done this for fun? Hardly. She prided

herself on maintaining an A in Biology and because of this stunt she had been assured it wouldn't be the golden letter she'd wanted.

"Like, give it a rest Kurt." She said with an indignant huff as she pushed her way past him. "I SO don't want to talk about it."

"But," Kurt followed her down the hallway, nearly buzzing from excitement. "Vhat happened? I heard you vere attacked by sharks!"

Kitty rolled her eyes at his absurd comment. "Do I LOOK like I was attacked by sharks? Like, that's the stupidest thing I've heard all day." Second

stupidest, she silently corrected herself. He hadn't, after all, accused her of attacking him. The thought of Pietro's outright blasphemous accusation set

her blood boiling all over again, and she stomped her way outside to the student parking lot.

Kurt hurried after her, confusion marring his good looks (hologram or no, it was hard to stay mad at him too long when he flashed his patented puppy eyes).

"I'm sorry Keety, I didn't mean to upset you."

Kitty stopped beside Kurt's Jeep, allowing the smallest bit of guilt to gain a foothold in her thoughts. She wasn't mad at her friend, after all. It wasn't

his fault she'd felt responsible enough to do something so idiotic. She turned to look at him and gave him a small ghost of one of her usual smiles. "No, I'm

sorry. It's just been a long day, and I still have to talk with the professor."

Kurt cringed and gave her a look of sympathy. "I hope it vill be alright."

She climbed into the passenger seat and sighed, choosing to hug her backpack for support rather than toss it in the back with Kurt's. She was actually

thankful he'd agreed to wait for her. It was nice that Logan trusted him with one of the Institute's vehicles so soon after getting a license. Kurt was

probably one of the few students at the institute she could really talk to. Rogue was maybe the only one above him on that list.

"Thanks for helping me out." She told him.

"Yah," Kurt saddled up in the driver's seat and turned the ignition. "Anytime Keety."

00000

Across town and unaware she'd been the topic of her roommate's troubled thoughts, Rogue was picking up groceries for Ororo. With Jean and Scott away in

college, the chores they'd so diligently followed had been divided up by Logan to the unenthusiastic students left in the prodigies' paths. Rogue ended up with

supplies, which as an after thought wasn't so bad considering she had the liberty to pick and choose what she wanted. But... then again, Kurt got the keys to

a car.

She stared at the can of tomato sauce in her hand with contempt. It wasn't the food's fault she was stuck shopping while her half brother was picking Kitty

up at school, but it sure felt good directing her dissatisfaction somewhere.

With a heavy sigh she tossed the object of her disdain into the bulging cart she'd been manoeuvring around the store, and drudged the dreaded list from her

skirt pocket. She still had another twelve items to go, and being new at the job meant she hadn't a clue where to find any of them. Luck alone had awarded

her with the first batch of groceries in front of her.

Scanning the aisle's sign hanging high above her, she didn't even notice the woman ahead of her till she'd knocked her completely over with the end of her

cart.

Rogue swore and hurried to woman's side, thankful no one else had been in the aisle to witness her embarrassment. "Ah am SO sorry, ah didn't even see you

there!"

Gloved hand extended, she hadn't expected her victim to act so surprised AFTER the fact. Nor had she expected to find something so familiar in the older

woman's general appearance. Shocked gray eyes stared up at her, framed by long brown hair that had fallen from a sloppy ponytail.

The silence was unnerving, as was the look she was receiving. Rogue felt compelled to break it. "Ah didn't hurt you did ah?"

Finally, the woman recovered enough to accept the offered hand and even give Rogue a thankful smile.

"No, I'm fine." She said, stooping to pick the kerosene lantern she'd dropped off the floor. Apparently they were both in the outdoors section.

Rogue's gaze fell on the woman's cart; it was full to the brim with camping supplies and boxes of cheap snack food. It looked like her idea of camping too.

"Ah love those fruit snacks." She said, surprising herself by how openly she'd shared with the strange woman. It didn't feel wrong, but that itself left her

feeling a tad concerned.

"Yeah," The woman said with a wistful sigh. "They don't sell them any more where I live. I couldn't resist getting them."

Their eyes locked again, and this time Rogue was certain she saw a flash of grief and remorse before they were replaced by some sort of comfortable

familiarity. Something about her said Rogue had met her before. But where?

"Well," The topic of her thoughts looked about nervously. "I really should be going. Thank you for helping me up."

Rogue eyed her thoughtfully. "Thanks for not yell'n at me."

"You're welcome."

The woman glanced over her one last time before pushing her cart in the direction Rogue had come from.

The young Goth turned and watched until she disappeared around a corner.

"Weird."

There was no point in worrying about someone she didn't know, so she forced the woman from her mind, at least for the time being, and focused once again on

the task at hand.

Despite her hopes her list had not magically shrunk with the lack of her attention.

Rogue sighed. It was going to be a long evening.

00000

Professor Xavier was waiting for her when she arrived. He didn't need to telepathically project it either. Logan greeted her grimly on the front steps of the

Institute as she climbed from Kurt's jeep.

The older man eyed the vehicle's outward condition. "It's starting to look a tad dirty, kid."

Kurt laughed nervously and patted the dashboard. "Don't worry, I vas just going to vash it."

"Good." Logan said with a growl, turning his full attention to Kitty. She'd hoped he'd forgotten her, but it was a stupid wish after all.

"The professor wants to see you in his office."

She cast a longing look back at the relative safety of Kurt's jeep. Her friend gave two supportive thumbs up.

With a heavy sigh she followed Logan into the entry, and down a side hallway.

Somehow they managed to avoid every student in residence. How that was possible Kitty had no idea, but she was eternally thankful. The walk of shame was bad

enough with Logan looming like a sentinel ahead of her. She could tell he was disappointed in her, and she hoped her information would make some if not all

of it go away.

They stopped in front of the professor's office, and Logan wrapped his knuckles on the fine wood.

"Come in." Came the soft request.

Logan pushed the door open and with a curt nod, gestured for her to enter.

Kitty rallied all her courage and stepped into the finely lit study. The door shut behind her and she fought the urge to check if Logan had remained or not.

Somehow the idea of him remaining made her mission incredibly more difficult. She didn't like any disappointment on Logan's part. His approval meant

everything to her.

"Have a seat, Kitty."

Well, he hadn't used her full name. That was a good sign.

Taking Xavier's pleasantries as a good sign, Kitty hurried to occupy the seat in front of his desk. From the corner of her eyes she could see that Logan had

opted to remain.

Xavier folded his hands on the desk between them and gave her a thoughtful look. "Before I assign any punishment, I would like to hear your side of the

story, if it is alright by you."

Kitty nodded vigorously. "Like, totally professor."

He inclined his head as an indication that she could start whenever she wanted.

Ever since she'd jumped into the pool she'd dreaded this confrontation and the inevitable punishments that followed, but she realised with a stab of

annoyance, that she had neglected to properly plan out her argument. Obviously she sucked horribly in all respects, and wondered vaguely how Lance dealt with

similar situations on a daily basis.

Kitty shifted in her seat, desperate to find a position that would magically hide her from both men in the room. She couldn't, of course, and only managed to

draw out an impatient cough from Logan's direction. Now would be as good a time as any to defend herself.

"Like, it wasn't all my fault!" She declared, sending a meaningful look at both men. Neither seemed moved to respond, so she continued with more confidence.

"I was minding my own business when I saw Pietro." She spat his name like it was the most vile cupcake she'd ever made, and was very certain she saw the

corner of Xavier's mouth twitch. "He like, totally went in an area off limits, and I know I should have informed a teacher, but I didn't know if he was doing

anything that would freak them out, y'know? So I followed him.

'I found him outside running around like the freak he is, and I was about to tell him off for being such an idiot, but some guy totally shot at him! And I

really couldn't just leave and get a teacher THEN, so I jumped in the tank and got him out."

Xavier looked startled by the news, and with a quick glance, Kitty was certain Logan was too. "Do you know who it was that attacked young Mr. Maximoff?"

"No." She said. She actually wished she could, simply for the benefit of gaining more approval. "Pietro thought I was the one who attacked him. The nerve of

him!"

Xavier appeared to be in deep thought. "Anything else?"

"Oh yeah!" She could very nearly slap herself for forgetting something as pivotal as the dart she'd picked up at the scene of the crime. She reached into her

pocket and pulled the small piece out, presenting it to her professor in the palm of her hand. "I think this is what Pietro was shot with. It like, fell from

his shirt when he got up."

Xavier took the small dart from her and held it up to better light its small smooth surface.

"What is it Chuck?" Logan's sudden presence beside the desk caused Kitty to jump in her seat.

"It appears to be some sort of dart, possibly with tranquilizing effects." Xavier looked to her once again.

"It didn't knock him out or anything." Kitty said, feeling somewhat disheartened to have to disprove her professor's theory. "But he was kinda stunned like

he'd been shocked or something."

Xavier's brow knitted from concentration. After a short moment of silence he manoeuvred his wheelchair around his desk to face Kitty and Logan more properly.

"I will take this down to Hank for analysis. If you wouldn't mind Logan, go to the scene this all took place and see if you find anything."

Logan growled in response and gave a curt nod.

"And Miss Pryde." Xavier's eyes were anything but harsh and unforgiving. In fact he looked quite impressed, which filled Kitty with as much pride as her last

name implied. "I am very glad at how you handled yourself today. I feel the school's detentions are more than suitable punishment and I will not be assigning

any more than that."

Kitty smiled, overcome with relief. "Like, thank you SO much professor!"

He returned her thanks with a warm smile. "Now that this is over with, why don't you go downstairs and wash up for dinner."

Kitty was more than happy to oblige.

She resisted the insane urge to run for the hall, and carried herself across the room with as much dignity as possible. Logan remained silent but a simple

nod in her direction was more than enough for her to know that she'd done right by his books.

With the door to Xavier's office at her back she released a heavy sigh. Now that the worst of it all was over, she felt as light as a feather. If the

professor wanted to worry about Magneto's son, that was fine by her. It was no longer her problem.

Satisfied for the time being, Kitty made her way toward the rec room. A small voice in her head told her she shouldn't ignore what had happened, but the

louder and more dominant voice said she had every right to seeing as Pietro was her enemy and a complete and utter jerk. She agreed wholeheartedly and

pressed on.

00000

Katherine lay on a sleeping bag, wide awake despite being exhausted. The only light to the entire warehouse came from the small lamp she'd procured earlier

at the store. She kept it close at hand and used the light to illuminate the pages of an entertainment magazine. She tried falling asleep and couldn't. She

tried forgetting her confrontation with Rogue and couldn't. So she resorted to something she hadn't done in years; looking at pictures of gorgeous actors and

reading gossip. It was shallow, sure, but also very satisfying.

Apparently there was a small group of actors who supported Mutant equality. She raised her eyebrow at the small blurb. Having not heard of them in her time,

she gathered it was an equally small lived movement. She turned the page but it had already done its damage. Rogue was on her mind again.

She sighed and tossed the offending magazine aside. How was she to know her childhood friend would be shopping in the same store? She honestly couldn't think

of a reason she'd been there. But it didn't change the fact they'd met (in a way), and that she'd been reminded of some very painful and all too recent

events in her own time.

Katherine gripped the thick fabric of her sleeping bag and fought back the overwhelming urge to cry. She missed Rogue something terrible. Right now the young

southerner could be whispering secrets with Katherine's younger self, just as they used to do. Something she'd give anything to have again. Something she

doubted they'd ever get the chance for.

What else would change now if what she and Bishop hoped to accomplish failed? Losing Pietro was something she wouldn't allow herself to imagine.

Seeking to keep her mind clear and emotions in check, Katherine held her radio set to her mouth and clicked once. After a moment of silence, she heard the

answering click from Bishop's end.

"Hey," She said softly, trying to imagine where her large friend had bunkered down for the night. "How are things at your end?"

"Dull." He replied with a bored tone. "I can't believe Pretty Pie lived in a place like this."

Katherine hadn't seen the Brotherhood's boarding house in nearly twenty years but she remembered it's appalling condition. Pietro never did like talking about it.

"I thought I told you not to call him that." She said with mild annoyance. She could practically hear her boyfriend whining in her mind about the undesirable

nickname he'd been doted.

"Well, when the cat's away..." Bishop's open ended statement made her roll her eyes. He always did like poking bee hives with a stick. Metaphorical bee hives

that was, though she certainly could imagine him doing it.

Katherine decided it was pointless to argue. She just wanted company to keep her mind from oppressing thoughts.

"By the way..." Bishop's voice held an edge of annoyance. "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"

She smiled at the radio in her hand. Always the worry wart. And it was all because he felt he owed Pietro his life. She sighed and held the speaker closer.

"I couldn't, so sue me. I just figured you'd like some company."

"Well then I owe you some thanks." Bishop replied. He sighed and was silent for a few seconds. Seconds which Katherine strained to pick up other sounds from

his end. Nothing other than the wind; or maybe Bishop moving. She couldn't be certain.

"Bish?" She sat up, suddenly on edge.

"I thought I heard something." He didn't sound certain. "I need to check it out. Maintain radio silence until I contact you."

"Bishop!" Despite her training, Katherine couldn't stop herself from ignoring his command.

"It's Sabertooth!"

Katherine leapt to her feet and grabbed her jacket. She was not going to sit idly by while Bishop fought to save their future.


	4. Utter Confusion

Disclaimer: I still don't own them since the last time I posted. A girl can keep hoping right?

A/N: Shorter, but action packed! I enjoyed writing this chapter, simply because Bishop is a hottie and I love watching him fight (yes, I am a fangirl). Hope you guys enjoy! More to come, including a continuation of the action I present to you in this chapter! Also, I'm sorry about the last chapter's formatting. I'm still getting used to transferring my chapters, and apparently format is something I need to keep my eye on in the editing process.

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"Why aren't you helping?"

Pietro glanced at Lance from where he lounged with a text book on the sofa. "Because I'm doing homework."

The older boy narrowed his eyes, but bit back whatever he'd wanted to say next. Instead he returned his attention to the stain he was scrubbing (unsuccessfully) out of the rug.

Todd was working on a similar task, only along the cracked and dilapidated walls, while Fred peeled old food from the ceiling. It was a disgusting job, and someone had to do it, but it certainly wasn't going to be Pietro.

"Besides," He added, letting his gaze fall to the pages in front of him. "I wasn't around when you guys decided to go cave man. Can I be blamed if Gambit wants this place cleaned up?"

"That's unfair, yo!" Todd said with a pitiful whine. He tossed his sponge on the floor, narrowly missing Lance's head. "I have no problem with live'n like this."

"And you have no problem eating flies. That's why you aren't making this decision." Pietro replied in a crisp decisive manner. He met Todd's imploring gaze with one of little humour. "I am not about to live in a garbage hole like this, Toad. And I'm glad Gambit finally brought it to issue."

"Ah that's it!" Todd made to lunge for the place Pietro had been sitting, but the speedy boy had already vacated it. Todd reeled in place in an attempt to locate his target, but Lance stop him with a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"It's not worth it." He told the boy, every word dripped with venom. "Let's just get this finished."

"I don't mind." Fred replied, a little too late to actually have a say in their argument. He chipped a petrified piece of pizza off the crumbling ceiling and eyed it thoughtfully. To the boys' relief he decided against eating it, and added it to a garbage bag at his feet. "We don't want to get in trouble, right?"

Pietro smirked from his position in the doorway and tapped his book to his head. "For once Freddy's thinking straight. Now once you guys finish in here, you've got a hazardous waste spill in the kitchen."

The floor trembled for a moment before calming. Lance let out a dejected sigh.

Pleased and somewhat relieved he didn't have to fight, Pietro retreated to his bedroom upstairs. He realised he was being an arrogant jerk for not helping, but he did make a valid point; for two reasons. One, he hadn't been the one to turn their Boarding house into a worst slum than it'd already been, and two, Gambit didn't have the authority to tell him what to do. Thus he wasn't going to lift a finger.

Besides, after nearly dying at the hands of Kitty Pryde of all people, Pietro wasn't in the mood to pick up a scrub brush and bucket of soap.

He tossed his homework on top of his backpack and fell backward onto his bed with a dramatic sigh. Being the son of a rich megalomaniac sure had its prices.

He crossed his arms beneath his head and kicked his shoes off. Perhaps old baldy over at the Institute for crazy Wackos had finally deemed him a worthy threat. That was actually a flattering thought. But then why had he sent Kitty out of all the other X-freaks? Besides it being a complete insult, he didn't really think it was her style to sneak around and do... well, whatever the hell it was that she did. His neck didn't hurt any more, but the memory smarted something fierce.

He didn't think she had it in her to off him; she was a girl after all. Maybe she'd chickened out at the last second and saved him. THAT scenario made more sense, though he hardly liked it any better. Kitty wasn't supposed to try and kill him. Despite her being an annoying little ditz with an odd fashion sense and bad taste in friends, he respected her good looks, and he hardly ever gave a person that much credit, so he expected something in return for that.

Something that WASN'T a murder attempt.

His temper flared with the realisation that he was dwelling on her again, and in a fit he tossed his pillow to the floor and stared at it long and hard. He couldn't believe he was being so stupid. Girls were the least of his problems, and he sure as hell wasn't going to be made to look bad by them; Kitty Pryde or not. He was Pietro Maximoff, son of Magneto. One day he was going to rule the world at his father's side, and remembering THAT was as good incentive as any to push aside his doubts and tiny feelings of betrayal.

A future ruler had to get his beauty sleep too, he realised, glancing at his bedside clock. Though he didn't have any tests at school, and it was a Friday after all, he needed to be wide eyed and vigil. His father wanted him there learning, and hadn't jumped through all the hoops to ban his expulsion.

Pietro set about changing into a pair of boxers and a spare t-shirt, organized his book bag for the next day and set his alarm clock. Giving his room a once over to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything he turned his bedside lamp off, climbed into bed-

And immediately leapt out when his ceiling came crashing down.

As the dust and ceiling plaster began to settle, he scanned its midst for the cause of the rude interruption. Standing at the centre was a large bulky figure, all muscles and long hair; stooped in an offensive position. He recognised it immediately. "Sabertooth?!"

Before Pietro had time to react the mutant lunged at him, all teeth and frothing spit. Even with his enhanced speed he barely managed to get out the way; slamming into the wall opposite his bed just as the box spring collapsed beneath the older mutant's weight.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Pietro shouted. He was amazed his voice sounded so authoritative when every inch of his body threatened to shake him apart with fear. Why was one of his father's minions attacking him? What the HELL was going on?

Sabertooth lunged toward the door, cutting off Pietro's escape route. It was dark, despite the hole above them that allowed some moonlight in, but even then Pietro could tell something was off with the older man. He looked, different somehow.

He tried to reason again, wondering vaguely why his friends hadn't come running at the noise. "Sabertooth...Victor, what the hell are you doing? Did the X-Men put you up to this?" But even as he asked, he realised his question didn't make any sense. "Did my DAD put you up to this?"

Sabertooth lunged again and Pietro jumped to one side. He would have made it to the door had he not tripped over a misplaced support beam that had fallen from the Sabertooth's initial entrance.

Pietro fell forward, catching himself with his hands and knees. He heard Sabertooth's roar and a rush of air, and braced himself for the inevitable. Nothing happened. There was growling, sure, but it wasn't on top of him like he'd expected. Slowly, he drew himself around and found another man had entered his room and engaged his attacker.

His saviour was a large wide set man himself, dark skinned and fierce eyed. He had Sabertooth pinned to the wall with one arm beneath the frothing mutant's chin, and another holding a gun to his head.

Pietro crawled backward toward his door. There was no way in hell he wanted to stick around and watch them fight. He was gonna get the hell out while he still could.

"Thought you weren't alone." The man was saying in a deep voice. "Thought you were gonna get away with it?"

There was stomping now, from the other side of Pietro's door. Apparently the rest of the Brotherhood had decided to intervene after all and were racing each other up the stairs.

Pietro glanced back at the two men, and met the gaze of the black man. He was shocked by the concern his fiery eyes displayed.

"You okay kid?"

He nodded dumbly. What else COULD he say after everything that had happened? He didn't even know what had happened. What the hell was going on?

Sabertooth took advantage of his assailant's distraction and broke free, throwing the man onto the ruins of Pietro's bed. The gun fired once, hitting the far wall, and Sabertooth was out Pietro's window in the next instant, raining glass on the ground far below.

The large man disentangled himself from the bed sheets with a litany of curses and not to Pietro's surprise, leapt out the window in pursuit.

A moment later Pietro's bedroom door swung open and his comrades entered the war zone, confused and shocked by the scene that met them.

"What the hell happened in here?" Lance asked.

Pietro honestly couldn't think of a proper way to respond.


	5. I Disagree!

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men, and I wont ever... Unless one day copyright laws extend to dreams and fangirl fancy. Right now I have no such luck.

A/N: Welcome to Chapter 5, or as I'd like to call it 'Chapter 4 Continued'. I realise the last chapter was incredibly short and I cut it off right before anything could actually happen. It largely had to do with the impending holiday which delayed this release as well. I'd also like to apologise for any confusion in the X-Men Evolution time line. I started writing this not having seen the show in a good three years, but now I've refreshed myself up to the end of Season 3 and I feel a lot more comfortable in continuing. I don't think I screwed anything up that vitally, so three hips and a hearty hurray for that!

Onward with the story!

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Sabertooth got as far as the tree line before Bishop caught up. He threw himself at him and they both fell in an undignified heap. Bishop reached for the gun he dropped but had to dodge Sabertooth's wide sweeping claws. They grappled across the lawn, exchanging blows, drawing further and further from the Brotherhood's house and his discarded firearm.

Bishop lifted weights during his down time back at their base, and out of all their X-Men (with an exception to Cannonball) he packed the hardest punch, but Bishop's mutant ability didn't involve his strength, and Sabertooth's did. He felt the battle waning toward his opponent. He needed his gun or a good charge if he was going to do this right, and neither was forthcoming.

He took a heavy blow to his side, and used it to throw his weight against Sabertooth and knock him off balance. It worked, and he was able to roll out from under the mutant and deliver a good kick to the man's face. It felt great to hit the bastard.

Sabertooth didn't share the same opinion. With a snarl he was back on his feet. Bishop readied for the next onslaught, circling until he placed himself between the older mutant and the house. "Come on furball, what are you waiting for?"

His opponent looked hesitant, and almost thoughtful.

Bishop took a step toward his gun, keeping his gaze steady on his target. If Sabertooth was distracted, it was the best chance he had.

Still no change in his enemy's behaviour.

Bishop threw himself to his gun. The momentum rolled him onto his back and he brought the gun up to fire. The blast hit a tree beyond the spot Sabertooth had been, singeing its bark.

The bastard was gone.

Bishop tugged his night vision goggles free of his jacket and scanned the trees flanking the Brotherhood's estate. Nothing.

Then he remembered Pietro far behind him. Had Sabertooth somehow gotten past him?

He had no more than taken two steps when Katherine appeared out of the darkness ahead of him.

"He's fine." She told him, gesturing back at the house. "Where's Sabertooth?"

Bishop's face burned red from humiliation. "He got away again."

Disappointment flashed in her eyes, but it was replaced by her concern for him. She reached out and touched the torn cloth covering his side. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Something that wasn't just adrenaline sent his heart racing and he quickly pulled away from her to regain composure. "It's just a job for the tailor."

Katherine nodded, deciding it was better not to push the topic, and turned her attention to the Brotherhood's Boarding House. "What happened?"

Bishop shrugged, but realised the effort was wasted on her back. "Sabertooth took a stab at it again. Went straight through the roof." He laughed. "Nothing like the direct approach."

"Nothing like it for Sabertooth, anyway."

Katherine's comment caught Bishop's attention. What had she meant by that?

"Since when does Sabertooth sneak around with Shock Darts?"

Bishop frowned at the back of her head. "What do you mean?"

Katherine sighed and turned back to him. Every inch of her said she was exhausted. Bishop felt guilty for having dragged her out into the night when she obviously needed sleep. "It's just a feeling. I don't have anything to back it up with."

"You should go back to base and get some rest. I'll finish my surveillance here and return to get you later."

Katherine nodded again. "Okay. But be careful."

A thought suddenly occurred to him. He eyed her suspiciously. "How did you get here so fast?"

She blushed and smiled guiltily. "I hotwired a car."

Bishop chuckled at the image her admission drew in his mind.

"Don't start with me." She warned with a wag of her finger. "I already feel guilty enough, you don't have to make it worst."

He made a zipping motion across his lips with his fingers. "Wont say a word about it."

"Good." She said, and with a flip of her hair Katherine beat a slow retreat to the main road, leaving Bishop alone to the task once again.

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"Logan." Xavier greeted warmly from his seat behind his desk. "Come in."

Logan did as instructed, shutting the door behind him. He hadn't thought to take his jacket off, and still held his motorcycle helmet between his arm and waist. "I went to the aquarium like you told me to."

"And," Xavier pressed the tips of his fingers together and gave him a look of interest over the top of them. "You found something?"

"Not just something." Logan said with a low growl. "Sabertooth."

Xavier's eyebrows rose in surprise. Out of all the explanations for the day's events, he had not even considered young Maximoff's attacker to be one of Magneto's men. "Are you certain?"

Logan's face twisted, just talking about his enemy left a foul taste in his mouth. Xavier, of course couldn't blame him. He and Victor weren't on the best of terms.

"Yeah, I'm sure alright. His scent was all over the rooftop Kitty described. But..."

Xavier didn't miss his friend's obvious hesitation. "But?"

"There were two other scents. I didn't recognise the first, but I'm pretty damn sure the second was Half-pint."

"Well, that would match up with the story Kitty told us today."

"Except for the fact I smelled her all over the roof across from where Sabertooth was."

"Hm."

"Yeah," Logan said with a dissatisfied grunt. "That's what I said."

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Pietro lay on the sofa in the Brotherhood's living room, having opted to vacate the scene of his second attack that day. He'd recovered his backpack unharmed and drudged several of his blankets from the rubble of his bed with only minor tears in them, but dealing with the entire mess was too cumbersome for the night. Somehow he'd managed to regain his composure and blame the roof's collapse on all of Lance's seismic activity. Lance wasn't happy, but Pietro was certain he wouldn't be bothered with any more questions. In the morning, he'd have the others clean it up while he was in school.

Pietro sighed and tapped his foot on the arm rest. He was pretty sure Kitty Pryde wasn't to blame for the water incident now that he knew he was on Victor's hit list, but he couldn't fathom why that would be. It was possible his father was testing him, but the extent of the implication was more than startling. He could have died in either incident!

He held his cell phone up in the dark and stared at it. Finding out would be as simple as calling his dad and asking. But if it was a test, would Magneto really admit it? Or to the point, if it wasn't a test, would Magneto want him to know?

But how could he even consider that? Pietro was still leading the Brotherhood, with Gambit overseeing of course. That gave him some sort of immunity to assassination plots by his father, didn't it?

That left the possibility that Sabertooth was flying solo and had some vendetta against Magneto. It made sense to go after his only son in order to enact some sort of revenge.

Disgusted with his thoughts Pietro dropped the phone on the floor and turned over to stare at the back of the couch. There was no way he was going to get any amount of sleep. He had too many thoughts firing through his head.

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Unsurprisingly, Bishop found Katherine wide awake when he returned from his guard detail the next morning. She had their small camp stove heating a can of baked beans.

"That looks healthy." He commented with little amusement in his voice. He sat beside her and rolled his shoulders. The fight he had with Sabertooth had left him sore, and his position on a tree branch all night long made him even more stiff.

Katherine didn't look up from stirring the can's contents. "I've been thinking."

"You're always thinking, Kath." He replied with a heavy sigh.

She frowned at the ladle in her hand before wagging it in his direction. "We're going to need help watching Pie's back so that one of us can hunt down

Sabertooth."

Bishop's brow furrowed in confusion. "You mean going back to our time and bringing in some reinforcements?"

"No!" Katherine surprised him with her outburst. "We can't do that. The future may be changed when we get back - changed for the worst. If we try to go to the past again, it could be an alternate past."

He hadn't understood a word she'd said, other than the initial 'no'. "You know what, I'll just take your word for it. You're the computer geek."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm not a geek. I'm a very cool computer programmer, okay?"

Bishop chose to ignore her last comment. He was already thinking of the problem her original idea posed. "If we can't go back to get help, what are you suggesting?"

"Getting me to help." She said, "Or well, little me anyway."

"What?" Bishop couldn't believe she'd even suggested such a stupid idea. "You can't do that!"

"Why not?" She asked, raising her head in defiance. "Don't you think I'd trust myself enough to help out the cause?"

"That's not the point! Even if little you was willing to help, wouldn't you be screwing up the timeline somehow by telling her about the future?"

Katherine shook her head. "We need help, period. And I know I can trust myself to keep a secret. Besides, she can keep an eye on Pietro from the inside of school. It'll limit the number of unknown variables."

"The answer is still no." Bishop said with a growl. "We can do this fine on our own."

Katherine threw the ladle at him and stood up, not even bothering to look at him. "Fine. Serve yourself. I'm going to watch Pietro now."

Bishop watched her stalk away with some amount of trepidation. "No means no, Kath!"

She waved him off and exited the warehouse.

Certainly she wouldn't be stupid enough to ignore his orders...

Bishop groaned at the thought. He sure hoped she wouldn't. But there was no knowing with Katherine Pryde.

000000

"Kitty, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Kitty had grown used to having the Professor's voice in her head, but after getting off easy only a day earlier for causing a mess, she found herself very worried by his sudden need to see her before school.

She sighed and pushed away from the dining table where the rest of her friends and team members were happily chowing down their breakfasts.

Rogue noticed her depart, and turned to Kurt who sat beside her. "Hey, what's up with Kit-kat? Is she in some kinda trouble?"

Her furry half-brother didn't respond fast enough (he quite nearly had his face in a bowl of cereal) so she nudged him non-too-gently in the side.

"Ow!" He looked up with a pained expression and scowled when he found Rogue looking at him. "I don't know, okay? It has something to do vith her field trip yesterday."

Rogue sat back in her seat and poked her toast ineffectually. For some reason she'd remembered the strange lady she'd met the day before. There probably was no reason to worry over it, but the expression Kitty had left the table with was nearly identical to that woman's who she'd nearly run over with a cart.

'It's all in mah head.' She told herself, sighing inwardly. 'Ah mean, what else could it be?'

Still, she looked after the retreating form of her friend and thought of the woman leaving in a very similar manner.

000000

School was a welcome breath of fresh air after the reaming she'd received from Logan. She couldn't believe the nerve he had, accusing her of lying when she'd been straight forward on everything that'd happened!

Kitty glared her chemistry book, wishing she could chuck it out one of the lab's closed windows. Why would she lie in the first place? She had nothing to gain by it. And on the roof? As if. Obviously Logan had something stuck up his nose, because he was wrong wrong wrong!

"Kitty?"

She glanced up, snapped from her angry thoughts by the inquiring voice of her teacher. Everyone, she realised, was looking at her expectantly. Her cheeks burned red from embarrassment. "Could you like, repeat the question?"

A few of the female students giggled.

"The PA just paged you, dear." Mrs. Burk said with practiced patience. "You need to go to the office."

Kitty wanted so much to sink into the floor and disappear. First the professor and now what? Was Principle Kelley going to question her to? Did he think she was getting off too easily after what happened? He'd been looking for a reason to expel her and all the X-Men since they'd come public with their powers.

Was this reason enough to boot her out of Bayville High?

With a heavy sigh Kitty gathered her books in her school bag, and made her way toward the office.

When she reached it, a sympathetic receptionist was waiting behind the front desk.

Kitty approached her with a forced smile. "I was paged over the PA."

"Katherine Pryde?"

She grimaced at the use of her full name, and nodded at the old lady.

"Your mother is here to see you."

Kitty stood up straight, overcome by shock. Why would her mother come all the way to Bayville and see her?

"Don't worry dear," The woman said, evidently reading her reaction to be 'worry' over her family's well-being. "She said it's nothing bad."

She lightened considerably at the receptionist's admission and looked around the busy office. "Where is she?"

"Your mother asked to meet you in the outdoor cafeteria."

"Okay, thanks." Heartened by the notion that she wasn't going to get reamed by her family as well, Kitty hurried out of the school building, anxious to find out what her mother was up to.

When she reached the outdoor eating area, she found it empty, save for one woman sitting on a bench. As Kitty approached, she found that though it wasn't her mother, the woman was eerily familiar and vaguely resembled Mrs. Pryde.

Kitty glanced around the empty quad and then back to the woman who was watching her. "Like, I'm supposed to meet my mom out here... have you seen anyone else?"

The lady smiled fondly at her and flipped her hair in a fashion identical to Kitty's. "Well, I'm not exactly your mother." She smiled playfully. "But you could say we're related."


End file.
